Spirituality Studies 10-2 Fall 2024 3 Samuel Bendeck Sotillos Samuel Bendeck Sotillos, PsyD, LMFT, LPCC, CCMHC, NCC, CPRP, CCTP, MHRS, is a practicing psychotherapist in California, who has worked for many years in the field of mental health and social services. His focus is on the intersection between psychology, culture, and spirituality. He is a member of the Task Force on Indigenous Psychology (Division 32 of the American Psychological Association), an advisor to the Institute of Traditional Psychology, on the scientific board of the Knowledge and Hope Foundation, and on the editorial board of a few journals. He has written four books and edited one. His most recent work is The Quest For Who We Are: Modern Psychology and the Sacred (2023). He has written over five dozen articles and one hundred book reviews in a wide range of journals. His email contact is samuelbendeck@yahoo.com. Received May 13, 2024 Revised June 10, 2024 Accepted June 11, 2024 Key words Enneagram, mental health, sacred psychology, spirituality, ṣūfism The emergence, in the modern West, of the nine-pointed Enneagram continues to confound and intrigue. Furthermore, the true source of this symbol (and its application) also remains enigmatic to a secular mentality. Due to the diminishment of religious consciousness in today’s world, esoteric wisdom has been appropriated for mass consumption and relegated to the psychic dimension of life only. Given its powerful influence, the Enneagram has also been weaponized by profane forces to, paradoxically, undermine the sacred altogether. At the heart of all wisdom traditions around the globe, one finds a rich “science of the soul”. Its far-reaching metaphysical outlook can help to demystify the inscrutable origins of the Enneagram, thus making its esoteric symbolism not only intelligible to modern seekers, but also spiritually operative. The quest to understand ourselves beyond our mere egoic personality is key to an authentic spiritual life, and to unveiling the true significance of the Enneagram. In exploring this phenomenon, a “transpersonal” framework has been adopted that aligns with the insights found in the world’s great wisdom traditions and their sacred psychologies.
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